Adventure Associateshttp://www.adventureassoc.com
Work is an adventure... Be prepared!Wed, 30 Nov 2016 23:37:31 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.1Is Perfectionism Holding You and Your Team Back?http://www.adventureassoc.com/is-perfectionism-holding-you-and-your-team-back/
http://www.adventureassoc.com/is-perfectionism-holding-you-and-your-team-back/#respondWed, 30 Nov 2016 23:37:31 +0000http://www.adventureassoc.com/?p=2607Aside from being one of the most cliched answers to the interview question, “What is your biggest weakness?”, perfectionism can be a real detriment to you and your business – not to mention your health, with one study finding that senior citizen perfectionists were actually 51% more likely to die in their 6.5-year study! Perfectionism can be an insidious force in our lives and businesses, despite its perceived association with high achievement. Many famous perfectionists are lauded for their uncompromising vision, like Steve Jobs and Martha Stewart, and yet regardless of their achievements, they’re notoriously difficult to deal with according…

Aside from being one of the most cliched answers to the interview question, “What is your biggest weakness?”, perfectionism can be a real detriment to you and your business – not to mention your health, with one study finding that senior citizen perfectionists were actually 51% more likely to die in their 6.5-year study!

Perfectionism can be an insidious force in our lives and businesses, despite its perceived association with high achievement. Many famous perfectionists are lauded for their uncompromising vision, like Steve Jobs and Martha Stewart, and yet regardless of their achievements, they’re notoriously difficult to deal with according to insiders.

Constantly striving for perfection can result in unrealistic expectations for your staff, as it can make them feel like nothing they do is right. This creates a looming dread around completing tasks for a perfectionist – subordinates feel their work will always need to be fixed, corrected, changed, or even scrapped. While some workers will kill themselves to match these high standards, other workers subsequently feel disengaged, and counter-intuitively, can actually end up trying less hard. Employees begin to think, if our boss is just going to change what we worked on every time, why should we try harder?

In other instances, perfectionism can lead to poor delegation. Since perfectionists think to themselves that they can do things better, they often hoard responsibilities. The feeling they have is that there is only one correct way to do something and they are the only one capable of doing it. Even if they do an excellent job on those tasks they’ve undertaken, it can really slow down progress. Moreover, it does little for their subordinates’ sense of worth.

With both of the above examples being detrimental to employees and the company, on a grander scale perfectionists also suffer from a distinct form of rigidity. When someone believes their way is the right way consistently, it allows little room for creativity and collaboration. Companies helmed by perfectionists can often be unresponsive in the face of serious market changes. Reportedly it took Steve Jobs three years to get his first Macintosh to market because of his obsession with fixing all details – including making sure the internal components that consumers wouldn’t even see were aesthetically pleasing.

While hindsight might paint this obsession with perfection in a positive light, most business people would say this is the exception, not the rule, as the tech space has proven that getting a minimal viable product out to the market is a much better pathway to success than waiting until perfection. Never mind the inefficiencies, there’s also first-mover advantage that gets lost with this approach.

Return on investment is a major issue that may perfectionists overlook. That report that would have been considered very good after four hours of writing, but takes eight hours to get close to perfect is wasted effort. Often people don’t understand that most recipients of your work are looking for good, competent work – not perfection.

Organizationally, perfectionism can rear its head in the form of over-cautiousness and a deeply ingrained fear of making mistakes. This can make even small companies less nimble and it unfortunately avoids the valuable feedback that can come from taking calculated risks.

Making a break from perfectionism can be tricky as it’s necessary to relinquish some control. While it’s not easy, practicing in smaller scenarios can be helpful. Some of our team building events are a perfect venue for practicing new behaviors, such as our building bridges event wherein people are tasked with creating a bridge with certain specifications in a short time frame. Perfection just isn’t an option in this case, and so it forces teams to use a different paradigm. Programs like this encourage your organization’s perfectionists to flex their delegation muscles since it is impossible to take on all the roles successfully. Organizational leadership can also encourage letting go of perfection on smaller and lower impact projects, allowing employees to take more risks as the stakes are lower.

Through practice, perfection can be chipped away at through delegation, purposeful flexibility, and reframing failure as learning opportunities. The payoff is a happier team and a more dynamic organization fit for success and growth.

]]>http://www.adventureassoc.com/is-perfectionism-holding-you-and-your-team-back/feed/0The Rise of Remote Working: Its Benefits and Implicationshttp://www.adventureassoc.com/the-rise-of-remote-working-its-benefits-and-implications/
http://www.adventureassoc.com/the-rise-of-remote-working-its-benefits-and-implications/#respondWed, 02 Nov 2016 20:17:27 +0000http://www.adventureassoc.com/?p=2573Despite Yahoo!’s infamous move a couple of years ago to recall it’s remote work program – something publicly derided by many, including billionaire businessman Richard Branson – remote working is here to stay. Last year Gallup reported that, to date, 37% of US workers have telecommuted – up from 30% in 2008. Continuing this trend, more and more companies that don’t have any need for being in a physical location, like a manufacturing organization, are going completely virtual. Every year the job board site Flexjobs posts a list of companies that are either partially distributed or entirely virtual, and that…

]]>Despite Yahoo!’s infamous move a couple of years ago to recall it’s remote work program – something publicly derided by many, including billionaire businessman Richard Branson – remote working is here to stay. Last year Gallup reported that, to date, 37% of US workers have telecommuted – up from 30% in 2008.

Continuing this trend, more and more companies that don’t have any need for being in a physical location, like a manufacturing organization, are going completely virtual. Every year the job board site Flexjobs posts a list of companies that are either partially distributed or entirely virtual, and that list has grown from 26 in 2014 to 125 in 2016.

Of business leaders surveyed at the Global Leadership Summit in London in 2014, 34% predicted that over half of their full-time workers would be working remotely come the year 2020, and another 25% agreed that three-quarters would be working in a non-traditional office by that time – which is now just a few short years away.

Beyond the fact that companies are realizing there are numerous benefits to telecommuting, millennials, more than any other generation, are valuing flexibility in their jobs. For a generation that grew up with the now-ubiquitous technology that connects us the question seems to be, “If you can do your job effectively from anywhere, why do you have to be anywhere?”

There still isn’t a wholehearted acceptance of this shift towards telecommuting – sometimes due to procedural and collaboration hurdles or due to lack of trust by management – but the change feels somewhat inevitable. Let’s explore the benefits to people and companies, along with some of the implications and considerations around this shift.

Pluses for workers

TINYpulse, maker of employee engagement solutions, ran a survey which found that full-time remote workers were on average happier than their office-bound counterparts. Freedom and flexibility are recurrent themes in people’s answers as to why they enjoy telecommuting.

Moreover, and almost counterintuitively, telecommuters felt more valued at work, too. Perhaps there’s something to the element of trust that is inherent in allowing working remotely – something that has been difficult for some managers and companies with a more traditional mentality.

As Richard Branson said, “To successfully work with other people, you have to trust each other. A big part of this is trusting people to get their work done wherever they are, without supervision. It is the art of delegation, which has served Virgin and many other companies well over the years.”

Pluses for Companies

The benefits aren’t solely for the worker, though, as companies enjoy a number of perks as well. Having less bodies at the office means less space is required, and thus, lower overhead.

Likewise, companies have access to a larger talent pool. As outlined in this HuffPost article, Diebold, an ATM and POS services company based in Canton, Ohio, forged a bold turnaround under the helm of their new leader who openly encouraged telecommuting and sought employees outside their midwest headquarters. CEO Andy Mattes described his motivation: “We wanted the brightest people on the planet.” By allowing telecommuting they “got talent from a ‘who’s who’ of the tech industry.”

Another perk, happier employees mean lower turnover rates – something that can have a real impact on the bottom line, as replacing employees can range from 16% to 213% of salary, depending on seniority of the position according to a CAP Study.

Considerations

With the general trend towards telecommuting and remote work, there are a number of considerations that come into play, especially in creating an effective distributed work team.

Communication is more important than ever. It’s essential to use all modes of communication effectively, including email, chat, video conferencing, and, of course, in person meetings. Establishing norms for when and how to use various modes of communication while working remotely is critical for success, and potentially why some older companies have struggled with telecommuting.

Not only is communication essential for expressing goals and expectations, but also to keep employees engaged. Workers need to feel a part of their company regardless of where they are actually located, and this happens when they are encouraged to give feedback often. Investing in training, like our communication skills workshop, can be invaluable for ensuring teams communicate effectively.

For companies to be successful with remote working, it’s also essential to have very clear objectives. The less ambiguity, the better, as this ensures everyone is working toward common goals and not fuzzy on the company’s trajectory. What’s encouraging is that remote workers actually report high engagement with their management, with over 50% of TinyPULSE respondents citing one or more check-ins with their supervisors. This is often more than most office workers experience.

Unsurprisingly, TinyPULSE also found that remote workers reported having weaker relationships with their co-workers. The nature of remote work means less face-to-face interactions. By meeting in person, co-workers can gain a better understanding of how everyone operates as well as gain insights into each other’s personalities. People might find out that their co-worker who sends short, terse sounding emails is actually a really nice guy who simply prides himself in written efficiency. This is where group meetings for team building or corporate retreats can really pay dividends.

Seeing as the Wall Street Journal reported that small to medium sized businesses (10-250 employees) that allowed workers to telecommute at least three times a month were more likely to log revenue increases of 10% over the past year than those firms without remote work options, it appears that striving hard to make telecommuting work is a smart endeavor for many organizations.

]]>http://www.adventureassoc.com/the-rise-of-remote-working-its-benefits-and-implications/feed/0Managing Transitions at a Manufacturing Plant – Bridge’s Transition Modelhttp://www.adventureassoc.com/managing-transitions-at-a-manufacturing-plant/
http://www.adventureassoc.com/managing-transitions-at-a-manufacturing-plant/#respondThu, 10 Nov 2016 18:25:30 +0000http://www.adventureassoc.com/?p=2576Changes, whether personal or professional, are hard – especially when they’re not by choice. Recently, one of our lead facilitators returned from working with a billion dollar manufacturing client that was going through a particularly rough transition at one of its newly acquired plants. The company had recently hired a new general manager for this particular plant, replacing a well-liked, but under-performing, GM. Naturally, this replacement caused a disturbance in the ranks. Not just because workers at the plant lost a manager who they cared about, but because the new one had an aggressive style focused on productivity and profits…

]]>Changes, whether personal or professional, are hard – especially when they’re not by choice.

Recently, one of our lead facilitators returned from working with a billion dollar manufacturing client that was going through a particularly rough transition at one of its newly acquired plants. The company had recently hired a new general manager for this particular plant, replacing a well-liked, but under-performing, GM.

Naturally, this replacement caused a disturbance in the ranks. Not just because workers at the plant lost a manager who they cared about, but because the new one had an aggressive style focused on productivity and profits versus the previous one’s softer touch. Workers and management were worried that this new focus would result in less care given to safety – an especially sensitive subject in light of a recent serious accident at the factory. This resulting conflict within the plant was slowing progress on all sorts of initiatives and really impeding productivity.

Through discussions with management and the new GM, our facilitator recognized that the group was going through a particularly difficult transitional stage referred to as the Neutral Zone by William Bridge’s Transition Model.

On one end of the transitional model you have Endings, which represents losing and letting go, and the other end has Beginnings. The Neutral Zone represents a sort of doldrums in between the two that teams can fall into when making transitions. By holding onto how things used to be, it prevents groups from accepting how things will be when moving forward.

Endings are inherently difficult, but the biggest mistake groups make is not acknowledging them – so this is where the group at the plant started. The new GM, we’ll call him Jim, took the bold step of acknowledging to the team that he knew about their disappointment in losing their old GM, and even agreed to subject himself to SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats). This took great courage on Jim’s part, and it gave the team a forum for discussing some of their concerns preventing them from moving forward. By opening up more of a dialogue between Jim and the team, they were able to discuss topics objectively and share their points of view.

Jim acknowledged publicly that some people were hoping he would eventually be ousted because he didn’t match well with the previous culture. With regard to this point he explained to them that he had been hired by the new parent company precisely because of his willingness to “be a tiger” and get the plant productive and profitable again. This was a point the old team was in denial about, the fact that things needed to change for there to even be a future at the plant.

The team was then able to express their concerns about losing control of safety, their fear that they would be losing their family-like atmosphere, and that in their new plans to specialize workers team members would lose their sense of entrepreneurship and ability to positively impact the company. Jim, in turn, was able to make clear his goals to maintain safety standards, emphasizing this would not be something lost under his leadership. Likewise, he could recognize the value of workers cross-functional skillsets, while explaining that the efficiencies gained by specializing would make the plant much more competitive.

The exchanges the team had during our program are an important process of moving through the Neutral Zone – acknowledging what will be lost and emphasizing what will be retained and gained. Through this openness, which allows for expressing the emotions that naturally occur during transitional periods, groups can head into the next phase – the Beginnings. Likewise, marking the Endings with actions or activities that provide a little dramatic flair is another important step. The program that we put together for this manufacturing group provided a way to have a little fun while putting to rest the old ways of doing things and accepting that things had to change for their plant to have a sustainable future.

]]>http://www.adventureassoc.com/managing-transitions-at-a-manufacturing-plant/feed/0Using the SBI Model for More Effective Feedbackhttp://www.adventureassoc.com/using-the-sbi-model-for-more-effective-feedback/
http://www.adventureassoc.com/using-the-sbi-model-for-more-effective-feedback/#respondThu, 27 Oct 2016 21:55:22 +0000http://www.adventureassoc.com/?p=2570Feedback can be a tricky thing. More often than not it has a negative connotation and for leaders or anyone who gives feedback, it can be uncomfortable, awkward, and intimidating. Moreover, there are those instances when feedback goes awry, with recipients either receiving it poorly, or wherein the corrective intent isn’t absorbed in a way that leads to improvement. While giving feedback effectively may not come naturally to many of us, fortunately, there is a framework for giving it without falling into the counterproductive traps that we often do, like giving feedback in a roundabout way or generalizing and getting…

]]>Feedback can be a tricky thing. More often than not it has a negative connotation and for leaders or anyone who gives feedback, it can be uncomfortable, awkward, and intimidating. Moreover, there are those instances when feedback goes awry, with recipients either receiving it poorly, or wherein the corrective intent isn’t absorbed in a way that leads to improvement.

While giving feedback effectively may not come naturally to many of us, fortunately, there is a framework for giving it without falling into the counterproductive traps that we often do, like giving feedback in a roundabout way or generalizing and getting personal.

The model is called SBI: Situation, Behavior, and Impact, and the intention behind the model is to focus the facts and how they impact a particular situation without getting personal or speculation as to the reason for the behavior.

The first step is to lay out the situation, which typically involves a time and place, along with what was happening — so was it in the morning board meeting, or during an afternoon conference call with a client? This specificity provides context for the feedback.

The second part of the process is addressing the behavior — what exactly did the person do that you want to discuss? It’s very important to not read into behaviors, but simply state what you observed. So, you can mention that you noticed someone made a number of gaffes during a presentation – but try not to say something like, “It’s obvious that you didn’t prepare well.” The purpose is to create a dialog, not jump to conclusions. At this point, we don’t know whether it was truly a lack of preparation, or perhaps it was nerves or another issue in the person’s life impacting performance.

Finally, state the impact. Using “I” statements, not “you” statements, this is where you lay out how the behavior impacted you or others. You could say something like, “I felt like our firm didn’t give leave the client with a great impression and I am concerned about our methods of preparation.”

From here, the person who you are giving the feedback to will likely have some sort of response — potentially with some new information — which you should take into consideration. Based on how the conversation goes, you will likely then discuss ways to modify the observed behavior in the future. Also, it’s important to be mindful of the fact that the person might not be aware of or fully understand the impact their actions had and so might need more of an explanation. Likewise, if they understand the impact immediatly, then going on to discuss ways to modify the behavior would likely be overkill and could be perceived as condescending.

So from the top, an SBI conversation might go something like this between Sarah and Jim:

Sarah: Hi Jim, could I talk to you for a sec?

Jim: Sure thing, what’s up?

Sarah: This afternoon when we were in the logistics meeting together I noticed you made a few sarcastic comments with regard to the drivers and I’m concerned that this will negatively impact our already strained relationship with the department – something that I’ve been working to improve. What are your thoughts on this?

Jim: Well, I have been pretty frustrated with their performance and I could see how that might have come out in what I said during the meeting.

[I’ll try to be more diplomatic in the future, and I’ll be sure to check in with those people I may have offended to offer an apology.]

[If Jim doesn’t appear to recognize the impact of his actios, Sarah might go a step further with the following…]

Sarah: I understand where you’re coming from, and I share some of your frustration, but moving forward I’d appreciate it if we tried to be as diplomatic as possible. It’s important that we mend things with Logistics to move forward productively. Can you work on that in future meetings?

Jim: Sure, I’ll try to keep myself in check.

Now obviously, this is an idealized conversation that worked out perfectly, and not all conversations go this smoothly. But the point of SBI is to allow you to get to initiate the feedback conversation in a way that as simple and straightforward as possible. Sarah didn’t tell Jim he was being a jerk, she focused on a specific behavior – the sarcastic comments – and then talked about how it impacted her and her work. This assures that Jim doesn’t get as defensive as he might have with more broad language.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the SBI model is just as effective for giving positive feedback – something that is woefully lacking in many workplaces. Just insert a positive behavior and impact, and you’ve got a great template for praising employees. Hopefully the SBI framework can help you improve your ability to give feedback effectively at work.

]]>http://www.adventureassoc.com/using-the-sbi-model-for-more-effective-feedback/feed/0Parties At Work – How to Use Them to Maximize Teamworkhttp://www.adventureassoc.com/parties-at-work-how-to-use-them-to-maximize-teamwork/
http://www.adventureassoc.com/parties-at-work-how-to-use-them-to-maximize-teamwork/#respondThu, 06 Oct 2016 16:30:45 +0000http://www.adventureassoc.com/?p=2560Who doesn’t love a good party, right? They’re a great way to allow teams to blow off steam or celebrate an accomplishment, like a particularly good quarter or the launch of a new product. More than that, though, they help us relax and build camaraderie between team members who get to know each other on a more personal level. Moreover, parties often mix different teams, building bonds across different areas of an organization – a great way to help stave off siloing . Here are some ways to make sure you’re getting some team building out of your parties. Include…

Who doesn’t love a good party, right? They’re a great way to allow teams to blow off steam or celebrate an accomplishment, like a particularly good quarter or the launch of a new product. More than that, though, they help us relax and build camaraderie between team members who get to know each other on a more personal level. Moreover, parties often mix different teams, building bonds across different areas of an organization – a great way to help stave off siloing . Here are some ways to make sure you’re getting some team building out of your parties.

Include Games

Team games are a great way to get people to work together toward a common goal while having a good time. Games can be strategic challenges, or something a little more silly, but they should involve all team members so that everyone feels included and invested. Imagine company Jeopardy wherein teams compete with their knowledge of corporate trivia. Or try some of the fast-paced games from NBC’s Minute to Win It – here’s a list.

Encourage Mixing

Getting people from different teams and departments to mix together should be a key point of your party. Arrange seating so that people have communal tables to sit down at, and feel free to mix up the seating areas so that people aren’t as likely to group together into their normal cliques. Moreover, put food and beverages in a central area so everyone must go to the same location, increasing the likelihood of running into new people and making new connections.

Theme it Up

Giving parties a theme can be great way of focusing on a common goal or vision. If technology, research, and development are paramount to your company’s vision, then try incorporating those themes into the design of the party. Besides just being fun, it can actually lead to some interesting dialogues among party-goers.

Delegate Parts of the Party to Different Departments or Teams

Assigning different parts of a party to different teams or departments can be another way to ramp up team work. Logistics could handle the food, while accounting takes on beverages and marketing takes care of the decorations. Each department could have a representative who participates in the planning committee – just make sure it’s actually a fun process by providing employees leeway and the resources to get creative.

While it’s true that parties are just inherently fun on their own, by employing some of the suggestions above you can actually use them to increase employees’ sense of team unity. Let’s raise a glass to that!

]]>http://www.adventureassoc.com/parties-at-work-how-to-use-them-to-maximize-teamwork/feed/0Breaking Down Silos in the Workplacehttp://www.adventureassoc.com/breaking-down-silos-in-the-workplace/
http://www.adventureassoc.com/breaking-down-silos-in-the-workplace/#respondMon, 03 Oct 2016 22:56:56 +0000http://www.adventureassoc.com/?p=2555Grain silos are designed with one thing in mind – protecting the resources within from outside attack by pests, varmints, and other unsavory creatures. In organizations with a strongly siloed culture, the thought process can be quite similar. Siloed organizations have severe divides between different internal departments, something which prevents the free-flow of information that is critical to a business’s success. With the increasing complexity of businesses, this deeply rooted problem can be difficult to avoid. A side effect of organizational structure, siloing can result in numerous deleterious effects, such as redundant work, employee frustration and dissatisfaction, and overall friction…

]]>Grain silos are designed with one thing in mind – protecting the resources within from outside attack by pests, varmints, and other unsavory creatures. In organizations with a strongly siloed culture, the thought process can be quite similar.

Siloed organizations have severe divides between different internal departments, something which prevents the free-flow of information that is critical to a business’s success. With the increasing complexity of businesses, this deeply rooted problem can be difficult to avoid. A side effect of organizational structure, siloing can result in numerous deleterious effects, such as redundant work, employee frustration and dissatisfaction, and overall friction with regard to company initiatives.

Imagine, for instance, a marketing department which launches a new, elaborate promotion, but doesn’t involve any other departments in its development. This might result in very little buy-in from the sales department as they might have some input on the contents of the promotion, plus a missed opportunity to involve the organization’s training and development department to better educate employees on the promotion’s details. Now the company has invested a lot of time and resources into a marketing campaign that is hamstrung from the beginning due to an insulated, siloed approach which squanders company resources in terms of time, money, and human capital.

With so many business functions being cross-functional in nature (whether they’re viewed that way or not), it’s essential to proactively break down these silos whenever possible. While it’s certainly not easy, especially as a company increases in size, there are strategies which can help.

Silo Breaking Strategies

Permeable Boundaries

It’s important to make sure departments are not overly insulated, and this can be accomplished in a number of ways. With regard to architecture, it can be helpful to design mixing areas where people of all different departments can congregate. Perhaps it’s an open office area or lounge, which can lead to better cross-pollination between employees.

Moreover, rotating positions can be quite effective, wherein employees have stints in a variety of departments where they can make personal connections and learn the ins and outs of other functional areas. Internal company conferences and forums can be another effective tool. Regardless of what the topic is, by having representatives from across an organization it can lead to synergies and a feeling of being vested in achieving particular goals that may only be tangentially related to one’s personal department. Someone in sales might actually have a great suggestion for an internal conference on logistics, and their involvement might mean better future collaboration between internal groups. Jack Welch, famed former CEO of GE, was a big proponent of these internal conferences.

Incentivization

Another question to ask is what kind of carrots are you hanging out there to encourage collaboration within your organization? And can people see how their personal success is tied to that of other internal groups? Imagine setting goals and giving bonuses based on metrics that involve multiple departments. How about creating a contest to solve a particular company problem wherein people from all across the organization can pitch ideas for a reward – perhaps monetary or some extra vacation time. This can get people to think outside of their silo.

Information Flow & Technology

The flow of information within an organization is hugely important as it assures that all parties are informed about what is happening. This visibility helps keep parties on the same page and protects against the resentment people feel when they think that information has been withheld from them, even if this wasn’t intentional. Likewise, free-flowing information also helps prevent duplicated effort, for instance, if one department could benefit from the research that has already been conducted by another department. Investing in technology that makes this flow of data easier will pay dividends with regard to efficiencies gained through resource sharing and collaboration.

Having a Common Goal with Leadership Buy-In

Ultimately, vision starts at the top of an organization, so leadership buy-in to a shared goal and common vision makes sure that all the above suggestions are properly and enthusiastically implemented. Departmental leaders really set the tone for their workers and because of this, they are the first keys to overcoming institutional silos.

Reframing Viewpoints

It’s well established that silos aren’t healthy for any organization, but sometimes it’s hard to see or think beyond our own department. One way to think about it that can help reframe it for yourself and your employees is to think about your business from your customer’s perspective. They shouldn’t experience anything but a seamless experience from your company, and this requires an organization that shares resources and communicates effectively from within. This is the only way to assure that a customer’s experience isn’t hampered by hardened internal structures.

Training & Team Building

Cross-functional training, especially in the areas of communication, leadership, and teamwork can be great for people in different departments to get to know one another. Through engaging shared experiences, colleagues can build rapport and trust between one another and start to chip away at internal barriers.While not an easy task, silo busting is worth the effort and will lead to a more effective organization. It comes down to a matter of company culture and promoting collaboration and serving the end customer over protecting internal fiefdoms. Unity of vision is paramount, and leadership participation is key — by implementing the strategies above, hopefully, you can overcome the scourge of silos.

]]>http://www.adventureassoc.com/breaking-down-silos-in-the-workplace/feed/0Survey Results: What Do Managers Need to Improve the Most? Communication (Infographic)http://www.adventureassoc.com/survey-results-what-do-managers-need-to-improve-the-most-communication-infographic/
http://www.adventureassoc.com/survey-results-what-do-managers-need-to-improve-the-most-communication-infographic/#respondWed, 31 Aug 2016 23:49:16 +0000http://www.adventureassoc.com/?p=2520Well, the results are in, and the most common answer to “What does your boss need to improve?” was overwhelmingly “communication.” In a study with 3000+ participants, the breakdown was 52.5% for communication, accountability in a distant second with 19.9% of the votes, then positivity (12.9%), honesty (9.2%), and work ethic (5.7%), respectively. The study was conducted by Comparably, a company whose mission is to “Provide the most accurate and comprehensive compensation and culture data, to understand employees’ true value and needs to make work better.” They’ve compiled the complete results of their study in the handy infographic below. Being…

]]>Well, the results are in, and the most common answer to “What does your boss need to improve?” was overwhelmingly “communication.” In a study with 3000+ participants, the breakdown was 52.5% for communication, accountability in a distant second with 19.9% of the votes, then positivity (12.9%), honesty (9.2%), and work ethic (5.7%), respectively.

The study was conducted by Comparably, a company whose mission is to “Provide the most accurate and comprehensive compensation and culture data, to understand employees’ true value and needs to make work better.” They’ve compiled the complete results of their study in the handy infographic below.

Being in the team building and training space, it doesn’t come as a huge surprise to us. Communication improvement is one of the most commonly stated goals amongst our clients. It’s a multi-faceted topic that includes everything from frequency, to mode, to tone. There are so many issues and problems that arise within the workplace that can trace their roots back to communication.

While some people are naturally gifted at communication, the majority of us are wise to regularly take stock of our skills and think about ways we can improve. It’s a learnable skill and one involves just as much listening as it does actually speaking, and it’s invaluable when it comes to effective management.

The survey goes on to breakdown the results further by geography, age, ethnicity, gender and job title. While there’s parity in some areas, there are some interesting differences in others, such as the fact that “honesty” came up more often for the 36+ year old crowd and that “accountability” received 8%+ more votes in Chicago than in Washington D.C.

What do you think of the survey results – do you agree with the findings?

]]>http://www.adventureassoc.com/survey-results-what-do-managers-need-to-improve-the-most-communication-infographic/feed/0Top Team Building Mythshttp://www.adventureassoc.com/top-team-building-myths/
http://www.adventureassoc.com/top-team-building-myths/#respondTue, 16 Aug 2016 16:25:17 +0000http://www.adventureassoc.com/?p=2502Team building is touchy-feely This is a big one, as many of us recoil at the thought of team building due to its sometimes touchy-feely reputation. We cringe at the thought of revealing our innermost truths to our boss and co-workers around a hastily erected bonfire. However, this is a false belief as team building should be based entirely around its namesake – it is about building teams. This comes through creating trust by experiencing challenges as a group while working through the difficulties that arise. Trust, respect, and communication are the pathways to strong teams, not kumbaya circles, group…

This is a big one, as many of us recoil at the thought of team building due to its sometimes touchy-feely reputation. We cringe at the thought of revealing our innermost truths to our boss and co-workers around a hastily erected bonfire. However, this is a false belief as team building should be based entirely around its namesake – it is about building teams. This comes through creating trust by experiencing challenges as a group while working through the difficulties that arise. Trust, respect, and communication are the pathways to strong teams, not kumbaya circles, group hugs, and trust falls.

Team building will be cheesy

Beyond the touchy feely-ness of team building, we also fear it will be a dork-tastic cheese fest. Even those of us more comfortable with our personal level of nerdery feel a bit apprehensive at looking a fool in front of our bosses and coworkers. This is precisely why a round of karaoke, while sometimes entertaining, will not build strong teams. While it’s great to stretch and get a bit outside of our comfort zones, being cheesy will not bring us closer together – being engaged and challenged as a group will.

Drinks are enough

Who doesn’t love a good cocktail, right? While a frosty brew or perfectly shaken martini is a great way to blow off steam and have a few laughs together, it rarely leads to insights. This makes it a poor substitute for what we deem team building. In our mind it’s best to focus on the team first, then hit up happy hour later to relive the day’s events.

Once a year is enough

Have you heard about that new workout craze, you know the one where you hit the gym once a year but it’s super high intensity, high weights, high reps, with a focus on your core that leaves you ripped for the next 364 days? Yeah, neither have we. Team building is like working a bunch of different muscles – problem-solving, decision-making, strategizing, etc. It takes regular effort to keep these things – and your team – in tip top shape. Here at Adventure Associates we do an activity every week. While this may not be feasible for every company, quarterly activities can really keep a team running on all eight cylinders. Plus, don’t forget less formal activities that can be done during a lunch break. There’s no reason your team shouldn’t be honing its skills regularly.

There’s no ROI

As we live in an increasingly quantifiable world, often we’ll hear questions about the ROI on team building. It’s true, there’s not an easy one-to-one relationship between team building and profits, but there are a lot of other numbers that one should consider when investing in team building. One of those things is employee engagement at work, and unfortunately the number has been dwindling. Unengaged employees are difficult to retain and often start to look for work elsewhere. Replacing employees can be a huge cost burden on companies, which have to go through the hiring and training process all over again. Moreover, team building can strengthen communication skills which can help teams work more efficiently together, which subsequently affects productivity. A commitment to regular team building can have a tremendously positive ripple effect within an organization.

The effects won’t last

The first day of a new year’s resolution can feel great – you wake up and work out, eat no sugars or processed foods, and opt for a seltzer water instead of your favorite lager. Fast forward to a week later and you’re binge eating Entamen’s while splayed out on the couch in the middle of a three hour Netflix marathon. Sometimes we can worry that team building is a bit like that – the effects just don’t last. On the contrary though, we’ve seen some remarkable breakthroughs on facilitated team building programs, where barriers to effective teamwork and trust are taken down. Moreover, this is the reason we advocate regularly scheduled events such that the muscles of cooperation and collaboration can be strengthened.

Extreme activities are best

While zip-lining over a river of magma while being chased by attack falcons may sound pretty rad and make for some great Instagram photos, it’s not the best way to build a team. The same can be said for most other extreme activities. Remember, the key is engagement and creating an environment where everyone’s diverse skills are tapped at different times, while encouraging the kind of dialogue that builds trust. If half of your team is holding hands and shaking, then your event might be more scarring than enlightening.

Everyone will be besties

This is another common myth, that the intent is to make everyone best of friends. Look, we have no illusions that building a cardboard boat together will make everyone best of friends. Also, this isn’t a requirement for having a top-performing company. What is important, however, is building understanding and respecting diverse strengths among your fellow co-workers. These are things that can be developed and improved upon through skillfully administered team building events which challenge us to work better as a group.

One size fits all

Unfortunately, team building is not like buying a Snuggie® – one size does not fit all. To get the most out of your event you want to keep in mind what your goals are. Are you trying to work on how to give constructive feedback? Are you looking to better tackle complex problems as a team? While fun is always on the agenda, keeping these bigger goals in mind is essential for planning the right activity for your co-workers.

]]>http://www.adventureassoc.com/top-team-building-myths/feed/0Our Commitment to Weekly Team Buildinghttp://www.adventureassoc.com/our-commitment-to-weekly-team-building/
http://www.adventureassoc.com/our-commitment-to-weekly-team-building/#respondWed, 20 Jul 2016 19:22:00 +0000http://www.adventureassoc.com/?p=2456It shouldn’t come as a surprise that we as a team building company believe in what we do, but recently we’ve made a commitment to engage in a new team building activity every Friday. Before this, we had committed to one big outing a year, but we have come to realize how important it is to schedule more regular activities. Not only does it give us further insight into our clients’ needs, but it also strengthens our office as a unit. Team cohesiveness is like a muscle, one that needs to be exercised regularly to stay in shape. By completing…

]]>It shouldn’t come as a surprise that we as a team building company believe in what we do, but recently we’ve made a commitment to engage in a new team building activity every Friday. Before this, we had committed to one big outing a year, but we have come to realize how important it is to schedule more regular activities. Not only does it give us further insight into our clients’ needs, but it also strengthens our office as a unit.

Team cohesiveness is like a muscle, one that needs to be exercised regularly to stay in shape. By completing team challenges we can practice working together through difficulties inherent to the business world. While things most often go smoothly, these activities are a great way to unearth opportunities for growth and improvement. By participation, observation, and reflection we come to find out our strengths and weaknesses, something which should really be a lifelong study.

In one of our more recent activities passing a ball around on various pieces of wood and tubing, we observed how we had a tendency to jump into experimenting with solutions before talking it out. While occasionally this approach works, it can be counter-productive for more complex challenges, which more often benefit from some prologue discussion. Upon reflection, we were able to identify some occasions at work in which we approached things the same way. These moments of reflection and realization are invaluable when it comes to team development and work wonders for increasing camaraderie and trust.

So if you’re looking for some ideas for quick team building activities, feel free to check out our PDF with five team building activities you can do during a lunch break. Or get in touch with us to plan a half or full-day event. Otherwise, if you call in on a Friday morning and don’t reach us right away, it’s probably because we’re tackling another fun challenge as a team!

]]>http://www.adventureassoc.com/our-commitment-to-weekly-team-building/feed/0Why Annual Reviews Are Bad Practicehttp://www.adventureassoc.com/why-annual-reviews-are-bad-practice/
http://www.adventureassoc.com/why-annual-reviews-are-bad-practice/#commentsTue, 10 May 2016 18:40:07 +0000http://www.adventureassoc.com/?p=2427Oh, the dreaded annual review. In our adult lives there are few things as cringe worthy and anxiety inducing. We know that even if we’re doing a good job, we will almost certainly be receiving some form of criticism — and there’s always a lurking fear that somewhere along the way we’ve made some misstep that will come back to haunt us. It feels very much like that one college class you took wherein your entire grade was determined by one single exam. Did you do everything you could to prepare? The what-ifs can stack pretty high prior to entering…

]]>Oh, the dreaded annual review. In our adult lives there are few things as cringe worthy and anxiety inducing. We know that even if we’re doing a good job, we will almost certainly be receiving some form of criticism — and there’s always a lurking fear that somewhere along the way we’ve made some misstep that will come back to haunt us. It feels very much like that one college class you took wherein your entire grade was determined by one single exam. Did you do everything you could to prepare? The what-ifs can stack pretty high prior to entering your manager’s office and closing the door behind you with that ominous click.

Luckily for us, companies are beginning to realize that annual reviews are a pretty poor way of giving feedback on performance and are quickly losing popularity. CNN Money has reported that Accenture, GE, Microsoft, CIGNA, The Gap, and Deloitte have all ditched their annual review processes, and more than 46% of organizations polled planned to revamp their review process in the coming year. Besides being anxiety inducing and generally unhelpful for the employees, they’re also not very proactive. People’s performance changes over time, as do company goals and objectives. Likewise, employees can take on new responsibilities over the course of the year, making it difficult to assess performance objectively.

Once a year simply isn’t enough to keep up with the dynamic nature of the workplace. Feedback should be looked as a tool — a way to deliver both positive and corrective points to employees on an ongoing basis. By increasing the frequency of feedback, and making sure to include positive feedback as well, you can also foster an environment wherein employees feel more like they are coached rather than coldly evaluated at some arbitrary date.

It’s true that at some larger companies there is a desire to go through formalized processes to maintain a paper trail for accountability, but this shouldn’t preclude a much less formal approach between these sessions. Consider Adobe, which joined the above companies in stopping its annual reviews. Their Executive VP of HR wrote the following on their blog:

Last year we abolished our annual performance review in favor of lighter-weight Check-in conversations that center on ongoing feedback. We don’t have labels, a formal tool or prescriptive time of year it all has to happen – we just ask people to have conversations.

Feedback is all about the conversations. It’s about openness and continuity, a two-way street that should always be open. Hopefully, the trend of annual review abolishment will continue in favor of this more realistic, humanistic, and proactive approach of conversations and coaching.